 Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking

and redesign of business processes to

achieve dramatic improvements in critical,
contemporary measures of performance,
such as cost, quality, service and speed.
(Hammer & Champy, 1993)
 Automation
 Downsizing
 Outsourcing
 Process Simplification Process Reengineering

Incremental Change Radical Transformation

Process-Led Vision-Led
Assume Attitudes & Behaviors Change Attitudes & Behaviors
Management-Led Director-Led
Various Simultaneous Projects Limited Number of Initiatives

(Source Coulson-Thomas, 1992)

Continuous Improvement
Process Reengineering

Incremental Change Radical Transformation

People Focus People & Technology Focus
Low Investment High Investment
Improve Existing Rebuild
Champion Driven
Work Unit Driven
 A specific ordering of work activities across
time and space, with a beginning, an end,
and clearly identified inputs and outputs: a
structure for action.
(Davenport, 1993)
 A group of logically related tasks that use
the firm's resources to provide customer-
oriented results in support of the
organization's objectives
 Customers
◦ Demanding
◦ Sophistication
◦ Changing Needs

 Competition
◦ Local
◦ Global
 Change
◦ Technology
◦ Customer Preferences
 Complacency

 Political Resistance

 New Developments

 Fear of Unknown and Failure

 BPR seeks improvements of

◦ Cost
◦ Quality
◦ Service
◦ Speed
 Scientific Management. FW Taylor (1856-
1915).
 Frederick Herzberg - Job Enrichment
 Deming et al - Total Quality Management

and Kaizen
 In Search of Excellence (Peters and

Waterman)
 Value-Added Analysis (Porter).
 Systems Philosophy
 Global Perspective on Business Processes
 Radical Improvement
 Integrated Change
 People Centred
 Focus on End-Customers
 Process-Based
 Added Value
◦ BPR Initiatives must add-value over and above
the existing process

 Customer-Led
◦ BPR Initiatives must meet the needs of the
customer
 Sustainable
◦ Process improvements need to become firmly
rooted within the organization

 Stepped Approach
◦ Process improvements will not happen over night
they need to be gradually introduced
◦ Also assists the acceptance by staff of the change
 Viable Solutions
◦ Process improvements must be viable and
practical

 Balanced Improvements
◦ Process improvements must be realistic
 Business Understanding
 Empowerment & Participation
 Organizational Culture
 Process improvements must relate to the
needs of the organization and be relevant to
the end-customers to which they are
designed to serve
 For different versions of a business process
or data flow some mandatory information
must be on the flowchart.
◦ Name of the business process
◦ Unique number of the business process
◦ Revision number
◦ Date of last change
◦ Author
◦ Page number with total pages
 Organizational
Structure
General
Remove barriers
Principles
Support business
Simplicity
processes
Empowerment
Customer Interfaces
Process Design
Work from the
Think
customer perspective
horizontally
Automation
Automate to
advantage
Avoid Over-engineering
Work hard to simplify
Eliminate multiple points of
contact with & for the customer
Eliminate errors resulting from
multiple contacts
Eliminate need to reconcile
differing information
Reduce delays resulting from
reconciliation

REMEMBER: Simple Processes

Less Costly
More Flexible
Vertical Compression
Process decision-making is
not strictly a management task
Workers are empowered
Decision-making becomes
part of work
Advantages
Fewer Communication Delays
Lower Management Overhead
Better Customer Response
 Accessibility
◦ Be available when the
customer wants to interact

 Information
◦ Require only the data which
cannot be captured
elsewhere

 Wants and Needs

◦ What are the customers
goals, objectives - wants
and needs?
◦ Are we meeting these?
◦ Are there unknown wants?
 Single solution process
◦ One-size-fits-all
◦ Too complex for standard/simple cases

 Processes require flexibility for:

◦ Different markets
◦ Different situations
◦ Resource variations
◦ Special customer requests

 Reengineered process contains:

◦ Simple, standard path (80% - 90%)
◦ Exception handling path (8% - 18%)
◦ Large complex path (2%)
 Feedback

Inputs Transformation Outputs

Environment
 Select The Process & Appoint Process Team

Understand The Current Process

Develop & Communicate Vision Of Improved Process

Identify Action Plan

Execute Plan
 Two Crucial Tasks

◦ Select The Process to be Reengineered

◦ Appoint the Process Team to Lead the

Reengineering Initiative
 Review Business Strategy and Customer
Requirements

 Select Core Processes

 Understand Customer Needs

 Don’t Assume Anything

 Select Correct Path for Change

 Remember Assumptions can Hide Failures

 Competition and Choice to Go Elsewhere

 Ask - Questionnaires, Meetings, Focus

Groups
 Appoint BPR Champion

 Identify Process Owners

 Establish Executive Improvement Team

 Provide Training to Executive Team

 Capacity to view the organization as a
whole

 Ability to focus on end-customers

 Ability to challenge fundamental

assumptions

 Courage to deliver and venture into

unknown areas
 Ability to assume individual and collective
responsibility

 Employ ‘Bridge Builders’

 Used to generate internal capacity
 Appropriate when a implementation is

needed quickly
 Ensure that adequate consultation is sought

from staff so that the initiative is

organization-led and not consultant-driven
 Control should never be handed over to the

consultant
 Develop a Process Overview
 Clearly define the process
◦ Mission
◦ Scope
◦ Boundaries
 Set business and customer
measurements
 Understand customers expectations
from the process (staff including
process team)
 Clearly
Identify Improvement
Opportunities
◦ Quality
◦ Rework
 Document the Process
◦ Cost
◦ Time
◦ Value Data
 Carefullyresolve any
inconsistencies
◦ Existing -- New Process
◦ Ideal -- Realistic Process
 Communicate with all employees so that
they are aware of the vision of the future

 Always provide information on the progress

of the BPR initiative - good and bad.

 Demonstrate assurance that the BPR

initiative is both necessary and properly
managed
 Promote individual development by
indicating options that are available

 Indicate actions required and those

responsible

 Tackle any actions that need resolution

 Direct communication to reinforce new

patterns of desired behavior
 Develop an Improvement Plan

 Appoint Process Owners

 Simplify the Process to Reduce Process

Time

 Remove any Bureaucracy that may hinder

implementation
 Remove no-value-added activities

 Standardize Process and Automate Where

Possible

 Up-grade Equipment

 Plan/schedule the changes

 Construct in-house metrics and targets

 Introduce and firmly establish a feedback

system

 Audit, Audit, Audit

 Qualify/certify the process
 Perform periodic qualification reviews
 Define and eliminate process problems
 Evaluate the change impact on the business

and on customers
 Benchmark the process
 Provide advanced team training
 Assists the Implementation of Business
Processes
◦ Enables Product & Service Innovations
◦ Improve Operational Efficiency
◦ Coordinate Vendors & Customers in the Process
Chain
 Focus
◦ Business Processes
◦ Process Redesign
◦ Process Implementation
 Process Simplification is Common - True
BPR is Not
 Desire to Change Not Strong Enough
 Start Point the Existing Process Not a Blank

Slate
 Commitment to Existing Processes Too

Strong
◦ REMEMBER - “If it ain’t broke …”
 Quick Fix Approach
 Process under review too big or too small
 Reliance on existing process too strong
 The Costs of the Change Seem Too Large
 BPR Isolated Activity not Aligned to the

Business Objectives
 Allocation of Resources
 Poor Timing and Planning
 Keeping the Team and Organization on

Target
 Reengineering is a fundamental rethinking
and redesign of business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements

 BPR has emerged from key management

traditions such as scientific management
and systems thinking

 Rules and symbols play an integral part of

all BPR initiatives
 Don’t assume anything - remember BPR is
fundamental rethinking of business
processes